Buckle and tape assembly machine



Aug. 17, 194 30 J. SHAULSON BUCKLE AND TAPE ASSEMBLY MACHINE Filed Dec.26, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR 20 J/M BY %1 /4@/;;A ATTORNE Aug. 17,1943. J. SHAULSON BUCKLE AND TAPE ASSEMBLY MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec. 26 1940 1943- J. SHAULSON 2,327,291

BUCKLE AND TAPE ASSEMBLY MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 17, 1943 r 7 Application December26,1941), Serial'No. 371,715

3 Claims c1. 223-49) My present invention relates to the machine artwith particular reference to a novel machine for-fastening bucklestoribbons, and particularly totape. 5

The principal object the present invention is to provide'an apparatusfor fastening buckles and links to tape'without sewing, for renderingsaid tape or strap adjustable; r Another-object of my invention istoprovide an apparatus that will eliminate the necessity for threadingthe tape or ribbon through an adjusting linkand'buckle by'hand. f l

A further object of my invention is top'rc-vide an apparatus forhandling buckles of the type disclose-din my Patent No. 2, 33,153,issuedOCtober 11, 1938, entitled Lingerie buckle.

Another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for performingthe aforementioned function, that is "simple in construction, and iseasily and economically manufactured and assembled.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, myinvention-"consists of a novel arrangementof parts more fully disclosedin the detailed description following, in conjunction ;with theaccompanying drawings,

and more specifically defined in' thecl'aims appended thereto In thedrawings: 1 a

Fig. l is a perspective viewof the novel a'ppa ratus embodyingmyinvention;

Fig.2is' a front elevation thereof Fig. 3 is a section taken'along line3 -3 on Fig. 2;

Fig. l is .a perspective ing mechanism; 7

Fig. 5 is a perspective "View of the"U-s haped holdingmember;- I I Fig.6 isa perspective view of the lower end of one of the punches; and eFig. '7 is" a perspective view of a buckleand tape assembly made on thepresent invention.

--In my copending application; Serial No. 219,- 934, filed July 18,1938, and entitled Apparatus for assembling buckles andt-ape, I describean apparatus for automatically feeding" the buckles to. a buckle andtape assembly machine. The present invention comprises an improvement,the instant machinebeing preferred for small qua'm view ofthe buckleholdtities insomewhat slowerproduction inasmuch as the automatic 'feediseliminated. Furthermore,

the present machine is'o-flight construction as.

compared to the aforementioned application. 1

Referring in detailto the drawings'illustrating my invention the numeral20.genera11y desig-" nates a suitable table or stand on which themachine of the present. invention can be mounted. The machine 2| ismounted at thefront edge of the stand and comprises a lower base portion22 which is'preferably of an integral construetion made in a singlecasting. The base portion 22 comprises a main central portion 23 flankedon either side by integral trays 24. The machine may be bolted to thestand 20 through the trays 24, as by bolts 25, and at the rear portionthereof throughthe integral collar 26. j

integrally formed with the rear portion of the base 22 is a blockorstandard 21 in which is pivotally mounted a head 28. The under side ofthe ,head 28; adjacent the forward free end thereof, is provided with adished or concave recess 29 which is covered by a plate 30 having acomplementary dished-out portion 31 "forming a seat, with an opening 32extending therethrough.

The head 28 is movable vertically about its pivot by a rod 33 having ahead housed within therecesses Hand 31 of the head and plate; thecombination of the recesses 29 and 3| and the head 34 formingaball andsocket arrangement. The rod 33 extendsdownwardly through an opening 35in the base and some distance below the fiattable portion of the stand20. Between the base 22 and the underside of the head 28, the rod'r33'is surrounded by a coil spring 36 of sufficient tension to retain thehead 28 in a raised position, preferably at an angle of more than 90degrees with the block or standard 21.

The lower end of the rod 33 may be adjustably connected to a second rod31 through an adjustable collar 38; the lower end of the rod 3-} beingpivotally connected to a suitable operating member such as a foot pedal39. The portion of the rod 33 xtending'below the surface'jof the stand20 may also be provided with a stop element 20 adjustably slidable alongthe rod 3 31 and adapted to engage the underside of the stand 28 andlimit movement of the head 28 in-its'vertical direction. The base 22 isalso provided-with an adjustable stop screw 4| positioned behind-the rod33 and adapted to extend in the vertical path of the head 28 and limitthe downward movement thereof. The forward end of the central portion 23of the-base 22 is provided with a vertical open lng'42 comprising anupper restricted portion Y43 and a lower Wider portion: 44. A U-shapedholding member 45 is mounted in the openings2and is resilientlyhelcl'in'position by a'pin t6 and coil spring ll. The pin 4E comprises alower head 48 substantially equal to. the diameter of the wide, portion'l lgof the opening 42. The

shank 49 of the pin is of smaller diameter, and the spring 41 is adaptedto surround the shank 49 and abut the head 48, The shank 49 issurmounted by a narrow portion 50 and pin the narrow portion 56extending into the restricted portion 43 of the opening and the pin 51extending upwardly and engaging the U-shaped member 45. In assembledposition, the upper end of the spring 41 will abut the restrictedportion 43 of the opening 42 so that vertical movement of the U-shapedmember 45 is resisted by the spring 41 and stopped by the upper edge ofthe shank 49 engaging the restricted portion 43 of the 54 at rightangles to the upper edge thereof andhaving their corners cut away as at55. v

Mounted on either side of thefU-shaped member 45 are a'pair ofv metalblocks 56. and 51. The blocks. 56 and 51 are. preferably of rectangularconstruction and are substantially the same height. as. the end'portions 53 of the member 45. The to of each. block is provided with ahorizontal groove 58 and. integral vertical flanges 59 along thehorizontal edges parallel with the front of the stand 20. The flanges.59 are cut out, as at 60, adjacent. the center portions. thereof, andslightly-inwardly towards the U-shaped member 45. In assembled position,the horizontal flanges 54 on thelU-shaped member 45 will extend over theedges of the blocks 56 and 51. E'ach of the blocks 56 and 51 is held inplace. by a depending-shankfil extending into opening 52 in the base,and by set screw 63. The flanges 59 may be undercut to more securelyhold the buckle if desired. f

The front end of the head 28 is provided with spaced openings. 65 .inwhich punches 66. and '&T are fixed inplace,,as by set screws '68. Thepunch 66 is. preferably of circular cross section having its lower endcut away toform a blade 69 in a plane parallel to the side of the stand29; The lower end of the punch 66 is slightly rounded or bevelled, as at10, so, that the center portion of the lower edge depends. downwardlyfurther than the forward and rear edges. thereof. The punch. 6.! is madesimilarly to the punch 66 with a blade portion "H terminating in therounded end; 12. However, the inner edge of the end of the punch 65- isprovided with an additional depending flange Him a. purpose hereinafterto be described.

The spacing of the punches 66 and E'l'is'. such that in their downward.strokethe ends will swing into. the openings 69 in the flanges 59' ofthe blocks 56 and. 51.

As can be readily seen from the foregoing assembly, thev head 28,carrying the punches. 65 and 61,'will be held in a. raised position bythe coil spring 35, the stop element 4.0 resisting further upwardmovement. Pressure on the pedal 39 will pull the rods 31 and 33downwardly and cause the head 28 to move downwardly against the actionof the spring 36 until the adjustable sto screw 4| is reached. The screwis preferably adjusted, so that when the downward stroke of the head 28is completed, the. lower rounded end of the punches 6E and'Bl are31185013231 of the upper surfacesof the blocks 56- and 5?;

In assembling a tape. or ribbon with a buckle of the type disclosed inmy herei-nabove men-.

tioned patent, the buckle I4 is slid into the top of the block 56 withthe central bar portion 15 open and in alignment with the sides of thestand 29. The buckle 14 is pushed inwardly between the flanges 59 untilthe inner edge of the buckle pushes under the flanges 54 on the U-shaped member 45 and is retained beneath it by the action of the spring47. similarly, another buckle is placed in the same manner and pushedbetween the upper edge of the block 51 and between the flanges. 59 untilthe inner edge is caught under the flange 54 of the member 45.

One or more tape lengths may then be placed between the upturned prongsof the buckle either in the manner disclosed in my patent hereinabovereferred to, or in the manner disclosed in The vertical end portions 53my copending application Serial No. 219,934, filed July 1-8,, 1938,entitled Apparatus for assembling buckles and tape, or in the mannerdisclosed in my copending application Serial No. 243,696, entitledAdjustable buckle mounting, filed December 3,. 1938,. or in any otherdesirable manner, and the pedal 39 isthen pushed downwardly. The head 28is now pulled down against the action of the spring 36 and the punches66 and 61 engage the upturned. prongs: #5 of the buckle and push theminto horizontal position. The rounded end of the punch 61 will force theprongs downwardly towards the groove.- 58-so that they will interlockand remain. in substantially horizontal position. However, the dependinflange 13 on the punch 66 will first engage the tape and then push theprongs 15 downwardly so that there will be no danger of the prongs 1.5pinching the tape. This construction is necessary in a. twobuckleadjustment where one buckle is an idler and the tape must slid-e freelytherethrough.

Where. multiple folds of the tape are required it may be necessarytohold the tape between the prongs 1.5- during the assembly operation.For this purpose I provide the construction shown in Fig. 4. An L-shapedblock is bolted to the base behind the block 56- andhavinga leer. springTl fixedto the short arm of the block and extending upwardly.' A leverarm 18 is pivoted to the vertical arm of the block 16-, as at 19, havingan edged cam 89 surrounding the pivot and abutting the spring ll. Inhorizontal position the lever arm 18' is urged downwardly across theblock 56 and holds the tape in place. When the assembly is completed,the lever "is flipped upwardly and the cam. edge 89 and. spring 11 willretain it in upright position out of the way until the next loading.

Toassist the operator in correctly placing the tape inthe buckle, Iprovide an L-shaped member 81} bolted tothe stand 26 to the left of themachine, with the vertical arm of the L-shape spaced from the blocks asand 5-1 the required distance. With this construction, the operatormerely places one end of a length of tape against the top of theL-shaped member 8 and lays the rest of it along the inserted buckles,giving the required spacing. p v

For further convenience, I provide a bar-82 bolted to the front: ofthe-stand 29 and holding a vertical needle 83 and a conicalpointedmemper 84-at right angles. The needle 53' may be used. forholding the finished. buckle and tape assembly by placing the end of thetape over the needle, and they conical member 84 may be med to removeone. end, of the looped tape from the idler lmcklev by merely slidingthe loop over the conical. member 84 and pulling. For iurtherconvenrencer both front corners or the. stand 29- may be provided withU-shaped member 85 with openings 3t therein. Loosely mounted in theopenings 83 are rods 87 having weighted heads 88. The tape upon whichthe buckles are assembled may be divided into short and. long pieces,and the short pieces may be laid across one U-shaped member and the longones across the other U- shaped member with the weighted heads 88holding the tape in place until the operator grasps the end of one tapeand slides it out from under the weighted heads 88.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that the machine of the presentinvention is simple in construction and easy and economical tomanufacture and assemble. push the prongs of the buckle together is verysmall and the speed in operation is manually controlled to such anextent that it i easier to provide variations in tape and bucklearrangement than in the automatic type of machine disclosed in mycopending application hereinabove referred to. Furthermore, the blocks56 and 5'! may be removed and changed to accommodate diilerent sizes andshapes of buckles and correspondingly the punches B6 and 61 may also bereadily removed and exchanged, these parts being merely secured in placeby readily accessible set screws. Other objects and advantageousfeatures of the present invention will be obvious to a person skilled inthe art.

While I have described a specific embodiment of my invention, it isobvious that changes'in the ize, shape and relative arrangement of theparts may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

The pressure required to I claim: 1. In an apparatus for assemblingbuckles and tape, a base, a pair of spaced nests on said base,

'means positioned between said nests for releasably retaining-a bucklein operative position on each nest, a head pivoted to said base, a pairof tape, a base, a pair of spaced nests on said base,

a U-shaped, spring-pressed holding member po sitioned between said nestsfor releasably retaining a buckle in operative position on each nest, ahead pivoted to said base, a pair of spaced punches positioned in saidhead and reciprocable onto said nests, means'for resiliently retainingsaid head in raised position, and means for reciprocating said head.

3. In an apparatus for assembling buckles and tape, a base, a nest onsaid base comprising a rectangular block having a grooved channel in itsupper surface, a spring-pressed holding member on said base having aportion extending into said'channel and adapted to releasably retain abuckle in operative position in said nest, a head pivoted to said base,a punch positioned in said head and reciprocable onto said nest, a pedalop- JOSEPH SHAUL-SON.

